NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has acknowledged that maintaining good relationships with contractors on big infrastructure projects like Sydney's George Street light rail is "critical" to their success as she foreshadowed the release of a 10-point plan to lower bidding costs.

The Premier told The Australian Financial Review's National Infrastructure Summit in Sydney that part of the 10-point plan she will release later this week would go to "the heart" of the government's working relationship with contractors.

"It is about reducing bid costs and improving quality but it's also about acknowledging that relationship building and relationship maintenance during a project is critical, " she said.

The NSW government is planning on moving away from "fixed price, lump sum" procurement methods that have required projects like Sydney's new light rail line along George Street to be delivered on a certain date and within a certain budget – or face hefty fines that often end up being disputed. It is also planning on reducing the number of bidders on major projects to three or less, and standardising contracts to reduce costs.

The light rail project, which is running a year late and is $1 billion over budget, has ended up in the NSW Supreme Court amid a bitter dispute between the government and the lead contractor, Spain's Acciona, over who is responsible for unforseen costs associated with moving utilities.

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The Premier said the government was trying to get Acciona to deliver the project faster.

"The contractor has said March 2020 [to finish] and we've said you can do better than that so that's what we're having a dispute over," she told the summit.

The Premier said it was in the interests of both governments and industry to ensure there was a more "even keel" in the delivery of projects as it prepares to invest another $80 billion of new infrastructure over the next four years, arguing that market was now "completely different" to a few years ago.

"Early on when there were just a few projects on the boil, everybody was really keen to get in there and was spending perhaps too much bidding for projects," she said, adding the government did not want contractors to be "out of pocket" by spending too much on bids.

"We know a project is at its best when the interface between government and industry is a positive one," she said.​ "If we can work harder collaboratively to improve the interface between government, industry and all the various other parties that are part of a major project, then of course we will do that."

She said NSW would reach a "tipping point" in the next 18 months on infrastructure projects when it could start "building for growth" rather than catching up on infrastructure.

Maryanne Graham, head of corporate affairs for Western Sydney Airport, said the tendering changes would benefit the new airport. The airport at Badgerys Creek, which is being built by the Federal government and is scheduled to open in 2026, expects to choose a "delivery partner" in the next 4 to 6 weeks.

"Major infrastructure projects are successful when both public and private sector work together in a collaborative way," Ms Graham said.

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"Gone are the days of the contractor being whipped by government, we're now in a position where we can work in a very collaborative way and both parties can win out in the long run."

Ms Berejiklian reiterated previous comments on immigration, saying that current levels were "about right" but that states should get to participate in the immigration debate.

"What we've seen in NSW in recent years in that as the mining boom declined in WA and Queensland, a lot of the workers came to NSW, so our net migration from other states is at the highest levels it's been since the 1970s,

"Definitely the states deserve to have a voice in population growth and planning, you can't have one level of government making all the decisions about population," she said.

"I think the states and the Commonwealth need to get together every couple of years and have a serious conversation about population and planning and what programs are in place to meet those challenges."

The Premier also said there should be more coordination between the Commonwealth and states in deciding what infrastructure projects received funding. "It's important for all of us to be on the same page," she said.